a. Technical Field
The instant disclosure relates to handle assemblies for elongate medical devices, including interior components of a handle assembly for resisting deflection of the shaft of the medical device.
b. Background Art
Catheters are used for an ever-growing number of procedures. For example, catheters are used for diagnostic, therapeutic, and ablative procedures, to name just a few examples. Typically, the catheter is manipulated through the patient's vasculature and to the intended site, for example, a site within the patient's heart. The catheter typically carries one or more electrodes, which may be used for ablation, diagnosis, or the like. Often, another medical device, called an introducer or sheath, is used to position a catheter within the heart.
To increase the ability to move and navigate an introducer or catheter within a patient's body, steerable introducers and catheters have been designed. Such steerable devices often have a steering mechanism near the distal end of the device. This steering mechanism typically includes a pull ring and one or more pull wires (or deflection wires) attached thereto and extending proximally towards an actuator that can place the wire or wires in tension. Placing a pull wire in tension may cause the distal end of the device to deflect in at least one plane. In this fashion, the introducer and/or catheter can be navigated through the tortuous path of a patient's vasculature to a target site.
The foregoing discussion is intended only to illustrate the present field and should not be taken as a disavowal of claim scope.